Corporate Profit and Inflation

Kate Hollern Excerpts

Tuesday 16th May 2023 Westminster Hall

[Kate Hollern (Blackburn) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) on securing this important debate. In the short time available, I will echo many of the excellent points set out in my hon. Friend’s opening remarks.

The false narrative being perpetuated by the Government that wages are driving up inflation is misrepresentative of the reality facing many of my constituents in Blackburn. The Government have argued that workers should accept pay restraints to manage inflation, but substantial research suggests that corporate profiteering and so-called greedflation, not wage levels, are fuelling the inflation crisis. There is a clear disparity between the Government’s narrative and reality. Only today we learned that shareholders of the failed TransPennine Express received a £15 million bonanza last year, while people in the north-west could not get a train.

A report into profiteering by Unite the union in March revealed that the 2021 profit margins of the FTSE 350 jumped 73%. For the first half of 2022, they were 89% higher than the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, working people cannot afford to heat their homes or feed their families.

The huge recent profits of major oil and gas companies are well known. Leaked Treasury forecasts—they should not be leaked; they should be public knowledge—stated that producers and electricity generators could make excess profits of up to £170 billion over two years, yet time and again we hear the Government say we cannot afford many basic services. Meanwhile, 16.6% of households in Blackburn are living in fuel poverty. That is higher than the national average of 13.2% and the regional average of 14.4%. A proper windfall tax, which Labour would introduce, is urgently needed to address this. The Government’s actions do not go far enough, and it is disappointing that no Conservative Members are present to hear the shocking statistics that have been repeated today.

We have talked about food poverty. Only today, when faced with a question about the fact that the cost of making a cheese sandwich at home has risen by 37%, we heard an ex-Conservative MP respond by saying, “If you cannot afford a cheese sandwich, don’t make one.” That is so out of touch with the reality of how families are struggling to feed their children. It is disgraceful.

The Trussell Trust’s annual statistics paint a dark picture. In 2022-23, almost 350,000 food parcels were delivered in the north-west. That is up significantly from approximately 200,000 in 2017-18. The most recent survey carried out by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union found a shocking increase in food insecurity among members. It reported an increase in food bank usage from 7% to 17%, while those who reported relying on friends and family went from 20% to 34%. Some 55% said they have skipped meals to feed their children. The survey points to a clear disparity between supermarket profits and the experience of those working and shopping at supermarkets.

Profits have clearly not been reflected in workers’ wages. While for many the pandemic was a time of extreme anxiety and, in some cases, tragic loss, the Resolution Foundation estimates that the top 10% each gained £50,000 during the pandemic. Similarly, new analyses by economists at the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Common Wealth think-tank show that the profits of the largest non-financial companies were up 34% at the end of 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels, rising significantly faster than inflation and wage growth, so companies are getting richer and people are getting poorer. The problem is systemic and must be addressed at a policy level, with windfall and wealth taxes to ensure that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share.